Korean Fiction

Maya loves to cook with her grandmother - her Halmunee - to connect with the rich family history associated with each dish, a history Maya's mom would prefer stayed in the past. While cooking with Halmunee, something remarkable happens - the food creates such a strong memory that Maya and Halmunee are transported back in time through the memory itself. Halmunee explains that the women in her family have the gift of time travel through food and Maya can do it too, if she practices.

Long overshadowed by Japan and China, South Korea is a small country that happens to be one of the great national success stories of the postwar period. From a failed state with no democratic tradition, ruined and partitioned by war, and sapped by a half-century of colonial rule, South Korea transformed itself in just 50 years into an economic powerhouse and a democracy that serves as a model for other countries. With no natural resources and a tradition of authoritarian rule, Korea managed to accomplish a second Asian miracle.

One of the New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century In this New York Times bestseller, four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family fight to control their destiny in 20th-century Japan–the inspiration for the television series on Apple TV+. In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja...

Heungbo and Nolbo are not only brothers, but also friends—until their father passes away. Overcome by greed, Nolbo turns Heungbo away and refuses to help him when Heungbo loses his crops. Can Heungbo forgive Nolbo? Will they learn to be a family again?

Gracie Reed is doing just fine. Sure, she was fired by her overly “friendly” boss, and yes, she still hasn’t gotten her mother into the nursing home of their dreams, but she’s healthy, she’s (somewhat) happy, and she’s (mostly) holding it all together. But when a mysterious SUV pulls up beside her, revealing Chinese cinema's golden couple Wei Fangli and Sam Yao, Gracie’s world is turned on its head. The famous actress has a proposition: Due to their uncanny resemblance, Fangli wants Gracie to be her stand-in.

California teen Sydney Moore doesn’t know why she’s been shipped off to spend her senior year in Korea with the wealthy godparents she barely knows. What was her mom thinking? The Kims are never even home. And their son, the guy that’s supposed to help Sydney adjust to school at the elite Daeshim Academy, is totally MIA. As soon as Sydney can scrape together enough for a ticket, she’s flying home.

Intern with Korea’s number one record label? Yes, please. Find out there’s a huge scandal I need to help “manage”…not so much. Add in the fact that I don’t recognize the “superstars” of the label and think they’re interns. And my dream job quickly becomes more of a nightmare. But I’m in Seoul, the one place that is beginning to feel more and more like home. Except it isn’t home, and the drama surrounding the biggest K-pop group in the world, SWT, is consuming my every moment.

If you could swap your life for a better one, which would you choose? On the outskirts of Rainbow Town, there is an old, abandoned house. They say that if you send a letter detailing your misfortunes there, you could receive a ticket. If you bring this ticket to the house on the first day of the...

Often considered the highest achievement in Korean fiction, The Nine Cloud Dream poses the question: Will the life we dream of truly make us happy? Written in 17th-century Korea, this classic novel's wondrous story begins when a young monk living on a sacred Lotus Peak in China succumbs to the temptation of eight fairy maidens. For doubting his master's Buddhist teachings, the monk is forced to endure a strange punishment: reincarnation as the most ideal of men.

『오만과 편견』은 18세기 말 잉글랜드 남동부의 한 마을에서 일어난 젊은 남녀의 연애와 결혼 이야기이다. 당시 영국은 가문과 재산 정도에 의해 사회적 위상이 결정되던 계급 사회로, 계급 장벽을 자유로이 넘나드는 낭만적인 연애와 결혼이 거의 불가능했다. 부유한 상류층 신사 피츠윌리엄 다시와 재산이 없는 중산층 숙녀 엘리자베스 베넷은 신분 차이에서 오는 편견과 사회적 장애를 극복하고 건전한 사랑과 이해, 존중하는 마음에 토대를 둔 결혼에 이른다.

An excellent student from a poor, traditional family in Seoul, the narrator has absorbed the same message her whole life: Only a boy can provide the family with dignity and wealth. Not her. Not her three sisters. Receiving approval only for uncomplaining sacrifice, she has resolved to take on her family’s troubles. She is a good girl. And she knows what good girls must do.

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “A mesmerizing new historical novel” (O, The Oprah Magazine) from Lisa See, the bestselling author of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, about female friendship and devastating family secrets on a small Korean island. Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls living on the...

Inspired by the life of Easton’s grandmother, White Mulberry is a rich, deeply moving portrait of a young Korean woman in 1930s Japan who is torn between two worlds and must reclaim her true identity to provide a future for her family.

Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.

Mindy is super excited to go to South Korea to visit her grandparents! She has never taken such a big trip before, and she can’t wait to see her family again. Plus, Dad’s girlfriend, Julie, is also going to meet the family for the first time. Mindy and Julie decide to make a traditional Korean meal for the family as a thank-you for hosting. But after a few mishaps, Mindy fears they are cooking up a big disaster in the kitchen! Can Mindy and Julie make sure their meal passes the most important taste test of them all?

WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD IN FICTION FINALIST FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN FICTION LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD AND THE NBCC BARRIOS BOOK IN TRANSLATION PRIZE A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK...

FROM HAN KANG, WINNER OF THE 2024 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE “[Han Kang’s] intense poetic prose . . . exposes the fragility of human life.”—The Nobel Committee for Literature, in the citation for the Nobel Prize A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE ONE OF...

Situated at the heart of a rapidly gentrifying district of Seoul, the Yeonnam-dong Smiley Laundromat is a place where the extraordinary stories of ordinary residents unfold. It is already a haven of tranquility and reflection for locals, but when someone leaves a notebook behind, the laundromat becomes a place that brings people together. One by one, customers start jotting down candid diary entries, opening their hearts and inviting acts of kindness from neighbors who were once just faces in the crowd.

This cozy, romantic novel about one woman's desire to heal herself through art is perfect for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold and What You Are Looking for Is in the Library. Burned out by her TV news writing job, Jungmin leaves in an attempt to salvage her life. When she stumbles upon a...

FROM HAN KANG, WINNER OF THE 2024 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE “[Han Kang writes in] intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.”—from the Nobel Prize citation The internationally bestselling author of The Vegetarian presents a “rare...